LANSDALE — Lansdale police are seeking a Montgomery County man wanted for nearly a year on an active felony warrant for an alleged theft of expensive office furniture in the borough in February of 2013, and have asked the public for assistance in determining his whereabouts.

Police said they believe that Michael Walsh, 29 — with a last known address on the 2300 block of Coles Boulevard in East Norriton — is living with friends in Norristown and working somewhere in Northeast Philadelphia. Police said Walsh is also aware of the arrest warrant, which was issued in April of last year, court records show.

In a criminal complaint filed against James Dean Treadway in district court last year, police allege that Walsh and Treadway, 35, of the 700 block of West Main Street in Lansdale, stole several pieces of office furniture — including high-end Herman Miller Aeron chairs, which sell new for $689 and up, the Herman Miller website shows — from the warehouse of a Lansdale furniture company on the 300 block of North Cannon Avenue, where they were employed, and tried to sell them on Craigslist.

The complaint states that on Feb. 19, 2013 a company employee was preparing to ship 96 Aeron chairs — which had been acquired and warehoused two weeks earlier and had last been inventoried on Feb. 9 — to a customer when they discovered that 9 of the chairs were missing.

Advertisement

Another employee soon discovered a posting on Craigslist advertising chairs for sale that were identical to the missing chair, according to the complaint, who said that the ad read, in part: “Top of the line office chair. Like new condition...I will discount price if you purchase all nine.”

The employee found another Craigslist post advertising two heavy duty filing cabinets for sale — those items were also missing from the warehouse, according to the complaint.

All the employees immediately suspected Walsh of the theft because the name “Mike” was listed in the ad for the chairs, the phone number in both ads belonged to Walsh, and the ad for the chairs listed their location as East Norriton, where Walsh was known to reside, according to the complaint.

Employees also suspected Treadway was involved in the thefts because they recognized Treadway’s backyard in the photos of the filing cabinets, the complaint states.

A company manager called Treadway on Feb. 19 asking that he return the chairs, court documents show, but after realizing they were “getting nowhere” with him decided to report the theft to police. Later that same afternoon, according to the complaint, both Craigslist ads were deleted.

During their subsequent investigation, officers found the stolen file cabinets in Treadway’s backyard and interviewed both Treadway and Walsh, documents show.

Both men told investigators their jobs were to load and unload trucks for the furniture company, and Walsh admitted in his signed statement that he had posted both Craigslist ads but that Treadway had given him permission to sell chairs for the company, according to the complaint. Walsh also “inferred that maybe (Treadway) took the chairs when (Walsh) wasn’t there,” the complaint shows.

Furniture company managers told officers that “no one that works for (them) has permission to sell items”; that both Walsh and Treadway had access to warehouse keys; and that Treadway was never given permission to take the cabinets from the warehouse, according to court documents.

Further investigation led officers to a Plymouth Township woman who said that she had recently helped Walsh — who she’d known for five years but only by his nickname, “Pookie” — list some “black office chairs” for sale on Craigslist. The woman told officers that the ad she helped him with was different than the one company employees and police had spotted online, but that the picture of the Aeron chair in the Craigslist ad that police showed her was photographed in Walsh’s basement, according to the complaint.

Based on their investigation, police determined that Treadway and Walsh “stole, and conspired to steal” the chairs and cabinets, the complaint shows.

On April 16 of last year, court records show, both men were charged with the same 10 felony and misdemeanor criminal counts, including theft, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and conspiracy, and warrants were issued for their arrests.

Treadway was taken into custody on May 19, then incarcerated at Montgomery County Correctional Facility until Aug. 7, when he posted $1,000 bond, court records show. At a preliminary hearing on July 9 before District Judge Harold Borek of Lansdale, two of the 10 counts filed against Treadway — felony dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and felony conspiracy — were dismissed. Treadway remains free while awaiting trial in county court on the remaining eight counts.

Walsh, however, is still at large. Lansdale police said that at the time of their last contact with Walsh in 2013, his hair was dyed red. Investigators asked that anyone with knowledge of Walsh’s current location or any other information related to the case contact the Lansdale Police Department at (215)368-1801.